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| (Reply Cynthia Darson) | | (Reply Cynthia Darson) |
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| Maraht listened, and gently took her green skinned hand with his main phalange, wrapping the end of his main phalange around it, cradling it carefully. “It will be all right. Have courage. We are all working very hard to find how to reverse this.” | | Maraht listened, and gently took her green skin hand hand with his main phalange, wrapping the end of his main phalange around it, cradling it carefully. “It will be all right. Have courage. We are all working very hard to find how to reverse this.” |
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| (Reply Cynthia Darson) | | (Reply Cynthia Darson) |
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| (Posted by Sheila Mayer and Daniel Greene) | | (Posted by Sheila Mayer and Daniel Greene) |
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|
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| == Maraht and the Klingons ==
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| (IKS DoQ'boS - Galley - ACSO Lt. Maraht - 1035)
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|
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| "I have programming chips and a small replicator I have brought with me for
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| purposes of making my own food. I am more than capable of hooking it up to a
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| power emitter in your galley. Allow me to do so." Maraht, knowing he had to
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| be firm and could show no fear, rumbled closer to the outraged Klingon that
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| was taking his turn as cook in the galley.
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|
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| The Klingon's lip curled, and Maraht detected many sharp teeth and even a few
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| fangs sticking out of the Klingon's mouth. "Who let you in here?!" he
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| roared, and Maraht, turning up the volume on his Vox, roared right back,
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| "Your commanding officer told me to come down here! If you have any
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| arguments, take it up with him!"
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|
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| The Klingon bent down toward Maraht and hissed, "I will see to it that your
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| body parts are flung into the nearest star after I drill out core samples
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| from your hide if I find that you are lying."
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|
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| Giving a flip of the tip of his main phalange even though most of it was
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| wrapped around the replicator unit, Maraht snapped back, "That will be
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| difficult for you to do if I have already melted your carcass down to sludge
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| and eaten you. Go and complain to your captain if you have any objections.
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| In the meantime, get out of my way!"
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|
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| The Klingons eyes narrowed and he growled. Then he turned and stalked out of
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| the galley kitchen.
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|
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| Maraht nearly dropped the replicator unit in relief, but didn't. He wasn't
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| too sure if any other Klingon stalks would come in wanting to pound him into
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| powder, but he had learned well how to deal with Klingons. Firm decisiveness
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| and an aggressive stance seemed to go a long way with this variety of
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| stalks.
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|
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| Maraht worked carefully within the galley and he soon had some granite
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| materializing. He repeatedly brought the small chunks into the eating area
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| of the mess hall and dumped them into the large dish he had set up in a
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| corner. Right now, there was no one in the mess area at the moment. The
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| Klingon Bird of Prey was a small ship and he was sure that someone would
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| stride in soon.
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|
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| ~Sure enough, speak of the magma.~ A Klingon female strode in and gaped at
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| the Horta. Maraht ignored her and she, suddenly aware that her mouth was
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| open, busied herself with getting some bloodwine in a tankard from a nearby
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| keg on a shelf. Maraht noted that she kept staring at him as much as
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| possible even as she did so.
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|
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| After piling up enough granite chunks in his low edged eating dish, Maraht
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| climbed on the top of the pile and ate his meal, with much satisfactory
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| hissing as the rock melted under the onslaught of his digestive acid. He
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| carefully and neatly used his hair-like fringe to sweep up any uneaten bits
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| and pieces and wiped up any leftover acid in his dish.
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|
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| The expression on the Klingon woman's face was worth its weight in a
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| mountain of gold pressed latinum and pergium. It was an odd combination of
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| surprise, consternation and outright fear. She was sitting at the galley
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| table as far away from him as was possible.
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|
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| Maraht knew he walked a fine tightrope with his presence on this ship. He
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| knew the strange aggressive stalks had to be fearful enough to leave him
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| alone but not fearful enough to view him as a threat to their immediate
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| existence. So he decided he should see if he could get her to talk to him.
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| He knew she would spread it around the crew that he was not a danger to the
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| ship if he could convince her. After all, a small ship made for a small
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| crew. ~Let's see what will happen.~
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|
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| Maraht rumbled out of his eating dish and pushed it into the corner out of
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| the way. He moved to the middle of the room and faced the speaker grill
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| toward the Klingon. "Greetings, I am Lt. Maraht. Your captain has agreed to
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| give me a ride across the quadrant, now that the Federation Civil War has
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| ended. I am normally assigned to the USS Hades, but I have been granted
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| leave. You would be?"
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|
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| The Klingon woman's eyes widened and she hastily raised her tankard to her
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| lips and drank. Putting it down on the table in front of her, she said, "I
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| am 2nd Engineer Ba'raD." She stared openly at Maraht now. "Just what in the
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| name of Kahless are you?"
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|
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| "I am a Horta. My species are a silicon based life form, proud members of
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| the Federation and the greatest natural miners the universe has ever seen.
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| As far as I know, I am the only Horta in Starfleet." Maraht was justifiably
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| proud of his race and felt no need to pretend otherwise.
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|
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| "A rock that talks," muttered the Klingon. ~It's probably filthy and carries
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| diseases crawling around like that.~ "Did I just see you....eat a bunch of
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| stones?"
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|
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| Maraht replied, "My corrosive digestive acid that I exude dissolves the
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| stones for immediate ingestion, yes."
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|
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| Ba'raD's eyes widened in horror as she absorbed the implications of that.
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| "Don't worry, I am civilized. I won't eat your ship or anyone that behaves
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| themselves," Maraht said, hoping to prevent a panic among the crew. "I am a
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| decorated Lieutenant, having been in several battles, some of them hand to
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| hand....er.....rock to hand. I would not be allowed on any starship of the
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| Federation if I was thought to be untrustworthy or have bad manners. I know
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| better than any pebble to not drool."
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|
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| Ba'raD's mouth dropped open, and grabbing her tankard she downed the rest in
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| a single large swig. Having fortified herself with some liquid courage, she
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| said, "You don't even have eyes. How in the name of Kahless can you see?"
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|
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| Before Maraht could answer, the door opened into the mess hall. The
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| commanding officer of the DoQ'boS, Commander Duk'char stepped in. Glancing
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| around the room and taking note, his eyes found Maraht. "You are ready? You
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| have eaten?" he asked.
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|
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| "Yes, sir. I am ready to be shown around your fine ship. I have been looking
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| forward to it," replied Maraht. "I will talk to you later, Engineer Ba'raD."
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| He rumbled his way out, following the tall stalky Klingon.
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|
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| (Reply any)
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|
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| (Posted by Sheila Mayer)
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| ---------------------------------------------------------------------
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|
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| (IKS DoQ'boS - Corridor - ACSO Lt. Maraht - 1045)
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|
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| Commander Duk'char gestured toward the Engineering room. "That is our Engine
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| Room, but we do not let visitors in it for security purposes."
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|
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| "I understand completely. We do the same on our ship with visitors," said
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| Maraht.
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|
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| "Come!" Duk'char pointed down the corridor. "We go to the bridge."
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|
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| "Yes, sir," said Maraht respectfully. As they went to the small lift, Maraht
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| could not stop his curiosity. "Have you seen many battles in this ship? How
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| long have you been assigned to the DoQ'boS?"
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|
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| Stepping into the turbolift and squeezing over for Maraht, the Commander
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| stared at the Horta with surprise and suspicion. "Curiosity could get you
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| killed, Starfleet officer. Be careful what you ask."
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|
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| Maraht answered, "I am merely surprised at the design efficiency of this
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| vessel. What it might lack in spaciousness, it more than makes up for in
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| speed and agility. It could easily run rings around many ships I have seen.
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| You must be very proud."
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|
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| Duk'char raised both eyebrows and studying the Horta, he nodded. "Yes, I am
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| proud of this ship. We have been through many battles together. I could tell
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| you great stories of our times here."
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|
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| The turbolift doors opened, allowing them onto the dark cramped bridge. From
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| the viewscreen it looked as if they were already at warp speed. "I have read
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| about the history and development of the mek'leth and the bat'leth. I
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| thought it was fascinating. Klingon weaponry has a much more colorful
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| history than the development of phaser weapons."
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|
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| Astonished, Duk'char's eyes widened and he nodded. The bridge crew on duty
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| turned and stared at their captain with his unlikely companion. "Get back to
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| your work!" Duk'char snapped to his crew. "Status?" he asked a shorter
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| heavily muscled Klingon as he sat down in the center seat. Maraht assumed
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| that this must be Commander Duk'char's first officer or the Klingon
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| equivalent.
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|
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| "Everything is going well. The minor repairs have been finished, but we are
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| still low on food stores," was the answer.
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|
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| "Maybe we can pick up some meat soon. I am tired of dead gahg myself. I
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| would like to have fresher food." Maraht thought he detected agreement from
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| the other bridge officers, though they said little.
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|
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| The ship shook and bucked abruptly. "What was that? Did someone fire on us?"
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| snapped out Duk'char.
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|
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| "No Commander. Our engines are overheating," spoke up another of the
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| Klingons peering into a screen. Turning to the Commander he said,
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| "Engineering reports that one of the magnetic bottles is in danger of
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| failing."
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|
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| "What!" shouted the commander. "We cannot have survived such a glorious
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| battle with our allies of the 52nd Fleet to die from malfunction now. Shut
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| down the engines."
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|
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| The first officer spoke up. "The damage might have been minute and
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| undetectable until we went to warp speed."
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|
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| Maraht felt it was time that he spoke up. "Sir, I may be able to help with
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| repairs."
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|
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| Commander Duk'char and his first officer looked at Maraht with no small
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| amount of distrust. "How could you possibly help repair a warp engine? You
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| are a talking rock!" sneered the burly Klingon first officer. He turned to
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| Duk'char and said, "This is little more than a trained animal."
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|
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| Commander Duk'char held up his hand to forestall the Klingon from
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| continuing. "I doubt this Starfleet officer wishes to die. If we don't trust
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| it to help us, then we will die and it will not be in battle. If we do trust
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| it, then we might live to eat some fresh meat and see home again. I would
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| like to live to tell the tales of our recent victories."
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|
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| Duk'char turned back to Maraht. "Go to Engineering and repair the
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| malfunction. I am sure we have limited time. Martoq will accompany you."
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|
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| "Yes sir," said Maraht.
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|
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| (Reply any)
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|
| |
| (Posted by Sheila Mayer)
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| ---------------------------------------------------------------------
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|
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| (IKS DoQ'boS - Engine Room - ACSO Lt. Maraht - 1050)
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|
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| It wasn't long before Maraht and First Officer Martoq were moving through
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| the doors to Engineering. The light was dim and red warning lights were
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| flicking on and off. A countdown was in progress. There appeared to be only
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| three engineers at work. Two were struggling to stabilize the magnetic
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| bottles manually. Another had his head inside a conduit.
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|
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| "Is there a tool kit around?" asked Maraht. ~That would help.~ Martoq barked
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| an order and somebody brought them a tool kit and handed it uncertainly to
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| Martoq. ~Great Lava!~ Maraht's main phalange snaked out and plucked it from
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| the Klingon's hand.
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|
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| "Shut that blinking light down and turn down the volume on your noisemakers.
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| We already know there's a problem." Martoq glared at the engineering staff
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| and snarled another order. It became much quieter.
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|
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| Maraht asked Martoq, "Can your warp core be ejected in case of an imminent
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| breach?"
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|
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| Maroq scowled. "Yes, but then we would have to be rescued. There is little
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| honor in being dragged home by tractor beam."
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|
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| "All right then," said Maraht. "Let's see what we can do." The Horta rumbled
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| his way through the cramped engine room, Martoq following. He started
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| pulling off consoles covers as he went, looking diligently for the problem.
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| In doing so, he detected a few variances and some shorts in the electrical
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| systems. "Alright, here is one end of the problem," said Maraht. "You have a
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| cascade failure starting in your injector coils. See here," and Maraht
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| rumbled over to one open console, to illustrate with his main phalange, "You
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| have a very small short here that is causing an imbalance in your
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| antimatter/matter mix. The uneven mix is causing more thermal dispersal than
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| it should, putting more stress on your articulation frame. Now I am no
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| engineer, but even as a science officer, I can tell that the stress is
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| causing your second magnetic bottle to flux."
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|
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| An engineer, scanner in hand, ran over to Martoq and began talking to him in
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| low tones. The First Officer listened and then his eyes widened. In
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| astonishment he said, "My engineers say that you are telling the truth."
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|
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| Impatiently Maraht flicked his phalange tip at him and said, "Of course I
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| am." He began pulling tools out of the kit. "I can create a stable bypass
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| around the short and that should begin to help with the problem." He stopped
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| and pointed a spanner with his phalange toward an engineer he recognized.
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| "2nd Engineer Ba'raD, I want your assistance. I want you to use your scanner
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| to check for any fluctuating variances in this system. It will help to have
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| another person watching and giving me feedback to coordinate my efforts. I
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| want those magenetic bottles to be closely monitored."
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|
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| The Klingon engineering staff looked irritated and were fuming. Maraht
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| turned up the volume on his Vox and roared at them. "Now! I want this all
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| done now! Get moving or we could all be marooned here! Do you want to be
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| stranded in space with me for weeks or months? Or go home with your tails
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| tucked between your legs? *Get going!*"
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|
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| Martoq shoved the engineer still standing next to him and they all jumped
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| into action. Maraht worked quickly, with Ba'raD feeding him the variance
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| fluctuations. It wasn't long before they had the bypass in place.
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|
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| "Magnetic bottle stabilizing, Commander Martoq," reported an engineer. Maroq
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| looked for himself at the screen the engineer indicated and nodded. "Yes, we
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| can go to warp again?" His bushy eyebrows quivered with distaste at the
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| Horta.
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|
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| "Given that there are no more problems, you should have your warp drive
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| functioning again," said Maraht. "I suggest you have your crew run some
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| diagnostics of your systems, though, just to be sure. There could still be
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| some minuscule damage from the battle that has not been detected that could
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| affect the stability."
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|
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| The Klingon engineers look ready to murder Maraht again. "I mean no
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| disrespect, and I am sure you are good engineers or you would not have
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| survived. This same thing could happen on my own vessel, the Hades. Entropy
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| exists. Materials wear out and parts break down. It happens," snapped
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| Maraht. "Deal with it."
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|
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| "Get back to your duties," Martoq ordered them and turning to Maraht he said
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| simply, "Come." He stalked out of the engine room, Maraht close behind.
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|
| |
| (Reply any)
| |
| (Posted by Sheila Mayer)
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| ---------------------------------------------------------------------
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|
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| (IKS DoQ'boS - Bridge - ACSO Lt. Maraht - 1120)
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|
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| Commander Duk'char stared at the Horta with no small amount of astonishment.
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| "Martoq tells me that you were successful in fixing the problem with our
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| warp drive. How could a one such as you be able to fix an engine problem?"
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|
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| Maraht, containing his amusement merely said, "I have had good teachers, and
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| good Captains. It doesn't hurt a bit that I am a Horta. We are a talented
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| race."
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|
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| The expression on the Martoq's face conveyed disbelief. Duk'char's bushy
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| eyebrows trembled with amazement. "Well you certainly have your uses," said
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| the Commander grudgingly.
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|
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| "You are curious?" asked Maraht. "I have many things I can tell you. Why not
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| come to the galley with me and over a tankard of bloodwine you can hear it
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| all," offered Maraht.
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|
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| The Klingon commander nodded and stood. He said, "I would like to hear your
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| story. And I want to know how you became a Starfleet Officer. We shall
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| celebrate with a toast to our victory."
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|
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| (Reply Any)
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|
| |
| (Posted by Sheila Mayer)
| |
|
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| == Maraht at home on Janus IV ==
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|
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| (Janus IV - Mining Colony - Samuel's Quarters - ACSO Lt. Maraht - 1700)
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|
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| "I had thought, Samuel, that we were going to be destroyed and I would be
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| nothing more than some rock dust," said Maraht. "But the Great Lava had
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| other things in store for me. I survived that terrible battle and I am on
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| leave now. I have come home to visit. I hope to have some long talks with
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| Venerable Mother. There is much to discuss."
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|
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| The old man, sitting on the creaking wooden rocking chair, smiled and
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| chortled. "I know that you came through a lot. We heard only bits and pieces
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| here. But as long as we kept up the quotas and maintained the workload, the
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| powers that be saw fit to leave us alone." The muddy brown eyes twinkled at
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| Maraht. "You think the Great Lava had anything to do with that?"
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|
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| "It could be so," answered Maraht. "There are powers at work at which we can
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| only guess." The old man cackled and patted Maraht fondly. Muttering and
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| chuckling, he soon fell asleep, his head nodding.
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| "How long has he been like this?" asked Maraht softly. "He seems so shrunken
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| down and wizened." The Venerable Mother stirred, and touching her main
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| phalange to his, told him that the beginning of illness in Old Samuel had
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| occurred not long after Maraht had left Janus IV.
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| The medic, strong and vital with youth, stepped in the door. "He needs to
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| rest and you should leave now. He had a good visit with you but he tires
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| easily. It won't be long now. I shall let you know as soon as there are any
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| changes in his condition."
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|
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| "Yes, I shall and thank you. I appreciate you taking such good care of him,"
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| said Maraht. His phalange clasped briefly around the medic's hand and then
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| he and Venerable Mother rumbled through the door and down the tunnel.
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|
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| The Mother indicated that she would like to speak with Maraht in the Chamber
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| of the Ages. Obediently Maraht followed, happy to be in her presence after
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| being away for so long. Together they meandered through the tunnels
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| descending level after level, occasionally meeting a miner and other Horta.
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|
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| (Reply Any)
| |
|
| |
| (Posted by Sheila Mayer)
| |
|
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| --------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
|
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| Stardate: 2407.09.02
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|
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| (Janus IV - Mining Colony - Chamber of the Ages - ACSO Lt. Maraht - 1730)
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|
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| Touching her phalange to his, the Venerable Mother told Maraht that she
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| wanted to know all that had happened to him. She wished him to inscribe it
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| on a new wall in the Chamber of the Ages. Maraht, awed that such an honor be
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| accorded to him, humbly agreed.
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|
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| "It will take some time to inscribe. There is a lot to tell. I had better
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| get started." Maraht respectfully curled up his main phalange. Briefly
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| touching her phalange to his carapace, she bid him goodbye for now as she
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| had other children to attend.
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|
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| Starting at one end of a long stretch of wall in a newly hollowed out
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| section of the Chamber, Maraht carefully exuded acid and in graphic relief
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| carved out the story of his trip to the Starbase, his time at the Academy,
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| his assignment to the USS Mystique and then the Hades. He described in
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| detail his part in the battle of Beta Seranis, the death of Captain Saleke,
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| the rescue of Baylon Trinin, and the terrible fight to rid the Federation of
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| Doenitz. There was so much he had to tell that he was captivated for hours,
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| until a beep on his Vox alerted him.
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|
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| The voice of the medic startled him. "Maraht, there has been a change in
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| Samuel's condition. You should come at once."
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|
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| Maraht acknowledged and immediately left. Finding the nearest Horta in the
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| tunnel outside the Chamber, he told her to fetch Venerable Mother and to
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| request her to come to Old Samuel's quarters.
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|
| |
| (Reply Any)
| |
|
| |
| (Posted by Sheila Mayer)
| |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
|
| |
| (Janus IV - Mining Colony - Samuel's Quarters - ACSO Lt. Maraht - 2300)
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|
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| Maraht and the Mother arrived at Samuel's quarters. He lay on the bed, not
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| far from his beloved rocking chair. His breathing had become noisy and he
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| muttered. The medic was standing at one side of the bed. Maraht moved to the
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| other.
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|
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| Extending his main phalange, Maraht tenderly touched Samuel's wrinkled
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| forehead. The muddy brown eyes opened and he dreamily stared at Maraht. He
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| whispered, "My heart's not working well...too many strokes. I wish that I
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| could live longer to see things get better..not gonna happen."
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|
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| Sadly, Maraht held the wrinkled old callused hand with great affection. "You
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| inspired me so. I have helped make things better because of you and
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| Venerable Mother. I will always remember you, Samuel. The great deeds you
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| have done for the Horta will not be forgotten. They will be carved on the
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| walls of the Chamber of the Ages."
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|
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| Samuel smiled a little and then the light went out of his eyes. His raspy
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| breath struggled and then stopped. The hand Maraht held went limp.
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|
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| Beloved Old Samuel was gone.
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|
| |
| (Reply Any)
| |
|
| |
| (Posted by Sheila Mayer)
| |
| [[Category:Character Notes]]
| |